New Central Denver I-25 Project (Lakewood: neighborhoods, law, dangerous)

[SkyDog77]

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/09/2...3-YdHXTQJKDuXk

Another major Denver metro area highway is in line to go under the knife — and before there’s any relief, the surgery on Interstate 25 through the heart of the city is certain to bring major pain.

As state transportation leaders make plans for a major overhaul, Colorado’s busiest highway corridor is being primed for what officials say is likely to be a series of projects aimed at smoothing its traffic flow and improving travel off the highway, too.

Depending on how those plans shake out, the work could cause more short-term driving headaches, in some ways, than years of roadwork on C-470 in the southwest metro area, and, more recently, on Interstate 70 in the northeast. The I-25 work would rip open all or parts of the freeway from Alameda Avenue to 20th Street, a congested five-mile stretch traveled by about 250,000 vehicles a day.

[Willy702]

What a waste of money. Nothing will fix this stretch of road except for the one thing no one has the stomach for...demand-based tolls

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by Willy702

What a waste of money. Nothing will fix this stretch of road except for the one thing no one has the stomach for...demand-based tolls

I think a demand based toll lane is part of this.

[alloo66]

Well we can do something about it or just remain mired in Traffic with no hope for the future.

[Westerner92]

Great, in-depth article. The only thing that bugs me is this gem:

Barney Strobel, a Centennial resident who has spent six years studying traffic patterns, says CDOT doesn’t do so often enough.

"The northbound merges from the Santa Fe Avenue and Sixth Avenue Freeway flyover ramps are particular problem points with shoddy designs," Strobel said, adding: “The problem is not that there are too many cars on the road. The problem is that the road is not being managed correctly.”

He's not qualified to speak on that matter. I am legally qualified to speak on the matter, and I know the people who designed the Sixth Avenue interchange. The problem was the very constricted right-of-way between the river and the railroad. Anyone who looks at this stretch of I-25 in satellite view will realize it.

I don't know what he's complaining about with the NB Santa Fe ramp. The ramp merges two lanes into one ahead of the dangerously short ramp from Kalamath/Alameda (that hasn't been touched since 1958). That ramp has to merge very quickly into that rightmost lane that came from the Santa Fe ramp because, again, that stretch between the railroad and the river is ridiculously narrow. With a wider ROW, CDOT can make it to where the Santa Fe lanes won't have to merge.

Most people don't know, but railroad right-of-way supersedes state law in most western states. You can't touch it. They can grind any project that touches their right-of-way to a halt unilaterally. That's why UP's agreement with CDOT is actually a huge deal. If you ever think a road was design weirdly or incorrectly, see if it's close to a railroad.

He's just another one of those self-proclaimed experts that's laughably wrong and probably votes GOP because tightening CDOT's budget will surely influence Union Pacific policy or magically create space. The design was insufficient because lifelong civil engineers didn't consult his big expert brain. I imagine he doesn't leave safe following distance so that people can weave properly or so he doesn't have to slam on his brakes all the time.

The ramps for 8th Avenue are definitely outdated designs from the 50s, and they're needed to keep industrial traffic off local streets, so hopefully a reconfigured 6th Ave. interchange will allow for better design. It should allow them to get rid of the funky 6th/Federal interchange as well. That had to be built that way because apparently a lot of traffic from WB 6th needs to get off at Federal, and their weaving into traffic from the I-25 flyovers would cause worse traffic than what's there now even.

And any moves toward a double decker should cause an outcry. They cause more problems than they solve. Just ask Austin.

[DenverBrian]

Originally Posted by Willy702

What a waste of money. Nothing will fix this stretch of road except for the one thing no one has the stomach for...demand-based tolls

Or no through trucks?

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by Willy702

What a waste of money. Nothing will fix this stretch of road except for the one thing no one has the stomach for...demand-based tolls

You should move to Texas. Tolls every-f*&%ing-where. You can't hardly back outta your driveway without having to pay a tribute to a 1 percenter.

[himain]

Originally Posted by Willy702

What a waste of money. Nothing will fix this stretch of road except for the one thing no one has the stomach for...demand-based tolls

Miami has put tolls up everywhere as well. It's crazy

[BarryK123]

Colorado's highway design is the pits. Just a few years ago, they redid the entry/exit on US6 at Garrison St. in Lakewood. Heading eastbound, it's a single ramp entry/exit free-for-all. I thought poor designs like this went out in the 60s. Apparently not.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by BarryK123

Colorado's highway design is the pits. Just a few years ago, they redid the entry/exit on US6 at Garrison St. in Lakewood. Heading eastbound, it's a single ramp entry/exit free-for-all. I thought poor designs like this went out in the 60s. Apparently not.

I hate how close the ramps on 6th Ave are, particularly the cloverleafs. Definitely a relic of the 60s. I imagine it wasn't politically feasible to take out two neighborhoods' entrances, but no modern freeway/tollway would ever have accel/decel combo lanes that weren't at least a half-mile long.